lost-calls

[knifeprtys]

hii we’ve been mutuals for a super long time but don’t really talk as much buuut i just wanted to send a little message to check up on you. i hope you’ve been doing okay or at least hanging in there. i’m always thinking of you and wishing you the best! wishing you a peaceful august ahead of you 💛💗

hellooo💗💗 it's so incredibly kind of you to ask how i'm holding up, i can't express how much i appreciate it rly thank you💞 i am gonna ramble a bit sorryy but i'm doing okay i think, surviving at least. my sister's birthday was on the 27th and it's been p rough for me since then bcos i was sorta putting all of my energy and thinking into still trying to make it a special day for her and since, not being up and on the move for her is draining me almost more than actually doing anything would so ig thats why i haven't been online as much but my friend suggested that i start a journal for her of happy memories and stuff so i think doing that might help a bit ! i'm thinking about going along to a group grief counseling thing with my mum, my aunt and a few other family members later on this month so that should be good for me too. it's incredibly hard to get any sort of help in that way here esp just now so it's rly the only thing any of us can do and the group is JUST starting so we'll see how it goes. i'm not the type to talk unlike how i am on here lol but just listening might help! but YE, thank you again!! i hope you're doing alright and i hope august is good to you as well💞

[theurbanologist]

Hub Fans Bid Summer Welcome

Summer is inevitable.

It does not care if we are ready for it. The progression of time measured in hours, days, weeks, and months or other markers leads to its arrival. 

And here it is, bright and hot.

Every year I find that its presence is felt a bit more acutely.

When I woke up on my trip across the country 25 years ago, I always wondered what each summer day would bring. There was so much to do, so many new sidewalks, and the hope of new conversations.

I still feel that excitement, even if it does take me a bit longer to get up, aided by the promise of coffee to help shake things loose.

In that spirit of shared urban experiences, I recently asked a few Boston friends to tell me about what they like to do in the summer.

Their words inspire me as my own work continues this summer on my book.

* * * *

Stroll on the Greenway - Running between Chinatown and the North End the Greenway includes lots of fun spots in between. Take in the changing plantings, what’s blooming, what’s about to. Find your new favorite art. Watch the clever birds flocking in the trees around this “Harbor Fog” sculpture. They‘ve figured out the cool fog is motion-activated. On hot days, they await the next walkers and then swoop down through the cool mist.

At the North End, grab lunch at the Boston Public Market (buck a shuck or lobster rolls at Red’s Best, Ramen at Noodle Lab two faves) and eat in or picnic in the park.

Speaking of the North End, grab a sandwich at Monica’s on Salem St and maybe even a split of wine along the way for an impromptu picnic. Don’t forget the best cannoli from Maria’s.

At the other end, Chinatown holds many delicious treats, too. Relax in the garden, and take a photo safari capturing the iconic images like the paifang or gate, the fountain, the roast ducks hanging in the windows, or numerous murals. (If you want to learn more and taste more, come join me on a Chinatown Tour!)

Harbor Walk is the bright point in the Seaport development boom. Enjoy the fire pit while watching the sailboats on the harbor.

The ICA has a beautiful view, and built in steps. Summer Thursdays it’s the place to be for free music concerts.

https://www.icaboston.org/calendar/harborwalk-sounds

Taking a walk along the Charles or in the Public Garden. Bring your phone or camera and snap some IG ready or postcard shots. Check the fountain commemorating the advent of ether. Imagine the early days of surgery? Yikes.

It’s a beautiful fountain and a nice corner of the park. (Arlington and Marlborough, in case you did not know)

Admission is free to the BPL and the BPL offers discounted and free passes to many museums in the city (plan ahead). The Gardner is free on some days and many discounts apply (is your name Isabella? You get in free! Is it your birthday? Free!) check both sites for more details.

Jacqueline Church, is the founder of Boston Chinatown Tours. She can be found Between Dumplings, strolling the Greenway, the harbor  walk, or otherwise eating and drinking her way around the city.

A concert by the Landmarks Orchestra on a Wednesday evening at the Hatch Shell on the Charles River Esplanade in July or August. These free concerts are a great treasure in our city and they are an excellent way to spend an evening. It is beautiful to watch the sun go down over the Charles River as well while listening to some excellent music.  

Another great summer activity is the Dewey Square Thursday evening block parties on the Greenway.  Admission is free and the beer and wine is cheap and the setting is energetic.  

It's a nice way to end the day or start the night.

Adam Castiglioni is a Boston hospitality expert.

You can buy snacks aboard the Harbor Islands ferries, but that’s a rookie move.

Varsity level is this: stop for your favorite bagel along the way, arrive at Long Wharf early enough to snag a copy of Spare Change News and lounge in one of the Adirondack chairs inexplicably placed seaside.

The bagel is for once you’re on the boat, watching the skyline shrink as you approach Spectacle Island. But it never goes away.

There’s plenty to see on the island - the sea glass, the nature trails - but the city’s most peaceful summer moment is to be found laying afloat in the harbor, partially submerged, watching that skyline and heading only waves, feeling both relaxed and energized, linked to both the modern city and the timeless ocean, at once a part of the city and refreshingly apart from it.

Katie Lannan reports on Massachusetts political matters for Statehouse News.

My grandfather used to say that South Boston was the city’s best kept secret.  The neighborhood is surrounded by Boston Harbor, we are close to downtown, and it’s rich in history, making it one of the best neighborhoods around.

Taking a walk on Day Boulevard along the beaches is a simple summer joy. Start at Carson Beach and walk your way along the beach line all the way out to Castle Island.  I always plan to stop at Sullivan’s for some fried clams or an ice cream.

On Thursday evenings in the summer you can enjoy a sunset tour of Fort Independence.  Free tours are also available on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm-3pm. Another Southie summer bucket list item for me is to to head to Coppersmith’s Airdeck.

This gorgeous spot has a view of the city skyline, tasty food, and pitchers of red and white Sangria served via a vintage Airstream trailer-turned-full service bar. It’s a bit of heaven right here in Southie.

Maureen Dahill is the publisher of Caught in Southie and a South Boston resident.

The best place in Boston for families to be in the summer is Castle Island. It seems like everyone in the city knows this fact already: The cars routinely back up all the way to the Farragut statue on a nice weekend day.

What’s the appeal?

Well, there’s the inexpensive food at the Sully’s snack stand, for one. My go-to choice is the baked haddock. Not quite Legal Sea Foods, but better than most restaurants in Southie, and half the price.

There’s no better vantage point in the city to watch the various jets and boats come in and out of Boston’s port. Every foot of the 2-plus mile loop around Pleasure Bay offers great views for cyclists, runners and walkers. (The grilling/picnic area is also unlike any other in the city – it’s why so many parties get held there.) The causeway barriers help ensure deep enough water for swimming, even if the tide is low. If you’re lucky, you’ll find hermit crabs hanging out just below the surface.

And this is all in the shadow of a 19th century granite fort. (If you time it right, you can get a free tour of the spooky corridors behind those walls.) Getting there can be challenging, given the traffic. Best to park by the statue on or near Farragut Road and walk the boardwalk to the island. (Several Southie bus lines also swing down Farragut). Or show up later in the day, as sun-weary visitors make their departures, opening up parking spots.

Jon Chesto is a business reporter at the Boston Globe.

Boston and I first met on an idyllic family trip, many summers ago. 

We sank into the sunny days, savoring the luxury of a week away from work and school and predictable pursuits. Adventure, please! 

We hiked the Big Dig-era Freedom Trail, toured museums, marveled at the Aquarium. The city skyline, a silver streak rising from the sea, dazzled without being showy. The red cobblestones and black lanterns of Beacon Hill held magic, like an old stage set we’d stumbled across from another century. 

Tired but ready to keep going, we refueled with fresh ice cream on Newbury Street, a jaunt through the long-lost fairy-and-griffin shop, and an afternoon race through the Coop’s tall fortress of books.  There were fried clam rolls loaded high and quiet, calmer moments in Old North Church. For a week, it seemed like early American history held still enough for us to see it. Click!

Every year, as the swan boats begin their stately circuit in the Public Garden, I smile over that summer. For, a little lighter after the students’ exodus, Boston still has many charms. 

Take the newly renovated central Public Library, which opened in 1895 as “a palace for the people.” Sun-dappled pockets of shade set off the courtyard, a favorite reading nook. Murals by John Singer Sargent, Puvis de Chavannes, and Edwin Austin Abbey share real estate with shifting art exhibits, live concerts, miles of manuscripts, and plenty of books. 

Walk through worlds at the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center. Page through President John Adams’ personal library. Dig into transcribing anti-slavery archives. A lunch hour spent in the Boston Public Library, lost between the lions, can make your summer sing.

Sara Georgini is a historian at the Massachusetts Historical Society and series editor of the papers of John Adams. 

Here are my thoughts on a good (possibly great) summer day in Boston.

For me, a good start to a summer day in Boston would be to get an egg & pepper omelette on a bulky roll from Sammy Carlo’s on Bennington Street in East Boston. Steve Schire and his family have owned the business for decades and it reminds me of the morning bustle I’ve found in other locales, including Chicago’s Valois (Cafeteria) and the long-gone Tio’s in Seattle.

Take that sandwich over to Constitution Beach and watch the planes take off from Logan Airport. Go stand on the pedestrian bridge over the Blue Line and think about “Where are they all going?”

After a time, you might say “Where I am going?”

Jump on the Blue Line at Orient Heights and take the train inbound to the Aquarium. You’ll pass under water, but you won’t get wet, which is always a treat. Up, up, up and away to the Long Wharf, which used to be much, much longer, but times change.

For a few bucks, you can get on the passenger ferry here to Charlestown and the shipyard where the USS Constitution resides. It’s the cheapest way to get on the water, short of jumping into Boston Harbor, which quite frankly, sure it’s clean these days, but yeah, no thanks.

The 15 minute ride lets you see the vertical expansion of East Boston writ large in upscale residences and a range of pleasure craft bobbing along. You can spend a few hours wandering above the shipyard, up and down and around Old Ironsides and around Dry Dock Number 2, which is just as good as Dry Dock Number 1 and do not left anyone tell you differently.

Even if you have been here before, you’ve never been here with the teeming throngs you’ll find that day, and if you listen closely, you’ll hear a new set of reactions to Boston, cities, and tourist locales that you’ve never heard before. People make stories about places through the stories they tell. And when we listen to those stories that they tell we have new stories.